Packaged food in India has been ranked lowest in terms of its healthiness in a major global survey of packaged foods and drinks, an observation that should come as a wake-up call for the government, which is battling with providing healthcare to increasing patients of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes.
The survey — of the packaged consumables of 12 countries and territories — conducted by The George Institute for Global Health showed that India has the unhealthiest ie high levels of sugar, saturated fat, salt and calories in many of the favorite packaged food items.
The UK tops the chart with healthiest packaged food followed by the USA and Australia, says the survey conducted by The George Institute for Global Health. The study is published in the latest issue of ‘Obesity Reviews’.
Researchers had analyzed more than 400,000 food and drink products from 12 countries and territories around the world. Countries were ranked using Australia’s Health Star Rating system — which measures the levels of the nutrients such as energy, salt, sugar, saturated fat as well as protein, calcium and fiber and assigns a star rating from ½ (least healthy) to 5 (the most healthy).
India’s packaged foods and drinks were found to be the most energy-dense (kilojoule content 1515 kJ/100 g) and South African products were least energy-dense at an average of 1044kJ/100 g. The UK had the highest average Health Star Rating of 2.83, followed by the US at 2.82 and Australia at 2.81. India got the lowest rating of just 2.27 preceded by China at 2.43 with Chile coming third from bottom at 2.44.
Lead author Dr Elizabeth Dunford said the results were concerning because packaged foods and drinks are driving a double burden of diet-related diseases in many low — and middle-income countries.
“Globally we’re all eating more and more processed foods and that’s a concern because our supermarkets’ shelves are full of products that are high in bad fats, sugar, and salt and are potentially making us sick,” she said.
Co-author Professor Bruce Neal, Acting Executive Director of The George Institute, Australia said: “Billions of people are now exposed to very unhealthy foods on a daily basis. The obesity crisis is just the first ripple of a tsunami of dietary ill health that is coming for us. We have to find a way that the food industry can profit from selling rational quantities of quality food, rather than deluging us with unhealthy junk.’’
The report notes that many of the world’s major food and drink manufacturers have signed up to the International Food and Beverage Alliance and made pledges to reduce levels of salt, sugar and harmful fat and that these findings could provide an impetus for companies to improve the healthiness of their product ranges.
Reacting to the study findings, Prof Vivekanand Jha, Executive Director of the George Institute for Global Health, India, said : Policymakers and the food industry needs to work together to reformulate products to reduce the ever increasing risk of obesity and its consequences.”
More than 135 million individuals were affected by obesity in India while about 50.9 million people suffer from diabetes, and this figure is likely to go up to 80 million by 2025, making it the ‘Diabetes Capital’ of the world, according to various studies.